Brand New - Betstco FH-EFGCH195 Burning Belts

[Mud2Money]

Before wasting the money to have someone machine the pulleys to get the belts to sit lower get another set of belts.
Check your pulley alignment with a steel square or ruler or 2 ft level to be sure of the alignment, wood is not straight enough.
Then either raise your cut height or reduce your ground speed. Also on some of those the rear door can be opened to eliminate the "recutter" action many flails have.

V belts are designed to grip on the wedge action on the sides of the belts they should not bottom in the belt groove.

Your belts the B-991 is a B series metric belt so 17 mm wide on top, then they throw in a wrinkle by using 991 or 991mm "inside" circumference, so the B-991 is a 17 x 991 inside circumference belt.
That should also correspond to a metric B series 1067 belt with the 1067 being the outer circumference.
The on top of that an American SAE belt of the spec of B39 or a 5/8x42 inch belt is the same belt,
Another option would be a cogged V belt this might be a good fit.

View attachment 919343

Second this ! A piece of wood is about as square as a circle when it comes to clutch alignment. I use a starrett 24” scale. Messed with a ton of snowmobiles. Clutch alignments huge when it comes to not shredding belts. Saw many sleds with the belt tracking in line but the problem was usually they were not parallel and this is where I see shredded belt edges.

 

[davrow]

I also have a Betstco flail mower. And also burn up belts. In my case I have some areas of streambed silt and the rear roller drops and the hammers start mowing dirt instead of brush. I figured that was it. Huge cloud of dust and smell of burning belts is instant. I only mow 5 acres twice a year so it is within my pain tolerance level. Belts last two years.

Your belts look too big for your pulleys. I hadn't considered that before. I also purchased replacement belts from Betstco as the easy route, but perhaps I should spend the effort to find other belts from other sources.

Mine is only two belts, so only half the pain financially to replace them.

 

[timcote1960]

Wow!!! The same thing is happening to my BESTCO flail mower even to much smaller (the EFGC125). I’ve burned through three pair. I’d planned to call them tomorrow, quite disappointed to see this is part of their factory run.

 

[thclimer]

Wow!!! The same thing is happening to my BESTCO flail mower even to much smaller (the EFGC125). I’ve burned through three pair. I’d planned to call them tomorrow, quite disappointed to see this is part of their factory run.

Welcome to TBN!

It sure does seem like it is worth a call to BESTCO as you are not the only customer with this problem, hopefully they have some insight to help you. Let us know what they tell you so that others can learn.

 

[bctxprop]

Second this ! A piece of wood is about as square as a circle when it comes to clutch alignment. I use a starrett 24” scale. Messed with a ton of snowmobiles. Clutch alignments huge when it comes to not shredding belts. Saw many sleds with the belt tracking in line but the problem was usually they were not parallel and this is where I see shredded belt edges.

Well, FWIW that piece of wood was pretty straight. I tested with my level, too. Does Milwaukee brand suffice?

 

[D&D]

Well, FWIW that piece of wood was pretty straight. I tested with my level, too. Does Milwaukee brand suffice?

Looking at this picture, your pulleys are a tad out of line.

 

[Mud2Money]

Well, FWIW that piece of wood was pretty straight. I tested with my level, too. Does Milwaukee brand suffice?

That bottom pulley has a pretty big lean. I certainly wouldn’t want to see that. Top acting the same.

 

[threeoranges]

@bctxprop:

Any update on the results?

I am having exactly the same problem with a much smaller EF125. I've been through at least 5 belt pairs, and I have replaced the spindle bearings and pulleys once at my own expense (around $250).

The belts get around one hour of useful mowing before they burn up. Sometimes I smell the smoke and stop the PTO in time to save them, but at other times they burn up suddenly and leave coffee grounds inside the belt cover. I have not bought matched pairs, but they have been Kevlar-quality A38/4L400 belts ($15 - $30 each).

Like your case, all bearings are greased and the gear oil is full and clean. Both pulleys turn freely in both directions with no noise or obstruction if the PTO shaft and belts are removed. I am going through 2-foot high grass on flat ground (no hills, shrubbery, rocks, tree limbs, or stumps), and the mower is set as high as it can go relative to the roller. This is also in South Texas.

The belts burning does not occur exactly at the time when taller or thicker grass is being cut, but occurs randomly in increasing probability with time. It seems like they are heating up until they burn up. The pulleys look aligned with eyeball judgment, but I need to use a level and make them perfectly aligned. Except for burning one pair of belts, the pulleys are brand new. I replaced the originally installed pulleys after several burned belts.

I've been on the phone with BETSTCO for many hours. The only thing that they say which could be causing it, is a bad hydrostatic transmission, but I don't think that's it. Even so, the hydrostatic system is undergoing a complete checkup right now.

One thing that the BETSTCO rep told me to do, is what he termed "Pac-Man": Make the top-pin longer so that the mower curves inward -- the tractor side of the mower is much higher than the roller side, rather than the mower being mostly level on the ground. This should help reduce clumping and lighten the load on the belts. This suggestion helped a little bit, but it did not stop the belts from eventually burning up.

I'll clean the pulley grooves and realign the pulleys, and maybe experiment with belts slightly different from A38 / 4L400 with 1/2" top width.

I would not buy this brand again (BETSTCO / Farmer Helper), since it has been nothing but trouble, from repeated burning belts to bad assembly instructions (such as an arrow sticker on the driveline pointing in the wrong direction, making the shear bolt go on the implement side instead of on the tractor side).

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Yah, those pulleys look like they are leaning out of alignment for sure. Wow